Flexible conveyer



June 12, 1934. H. E. TWOMLEY FLEXIBLE CONVEYER Filed Dec. 21, 1952 3Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 21. 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 12, 1934. EY1,962,372

FLEXIBLE CONVEYER Filed D80. 21, 1952 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented June 12,1934 UNITED STATES FLEXIBLE CONVEYER Herbert E. Twomley, Riverside,Calif., assignor to Clara B. Parker, Riverside, Califl, executrix of theestate of George B. Parker, deceased Application December 2 4 Claims.

My invention relates to conveyers, and has particular reference to aconveyer which is laterally flexible relative to the direction of motionof parcels passing over the conveyer to permit it to be adjusted tovarious curves and angles.

In my copending application, Serial No. 590,-

;046, filed February 2nd, 1932, I describe a conveyer construction inwhich the conveyer included a central runner and a par of ribbon joists,one on each side of the central runner across all of which extended anumber of parcel supporting rollers with the roller mounting so formedas to encircle a portion of the central runner to prevent longitudinalmovement of the roller assemblies but permitting lateral flexing of thejoists and central runner to allow the conveyer to assume various anglesand curves.

In that application the central runner was illustrated as constituting athird ribbon-like joist, while the roller mountings comprised lugshaving rectangular passageways therethrough conforming with the shape ofthe ribbon runner.

My present invention relates to the same type of conveyer construction,but has for its primary object the employment of a central runner whichis formed of any desired shape.

An object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a conveyer of thetype set forth in the preceding paragraph, in which the central runnercomprises an elongated wire.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveyer of the type setforth in the preceding paragraph in which the roller mounting membersmay be formed of sections of tubingwith the ends thereof drawn down toconform in size with the sidesof a wire or rod-like central runner.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of thefollowing specifications, read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings,

wherein Figure 1 is a top plan view of a conveyer constructed inaccordance with my invention and illustrated as extended in a straightline.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the conveyer shown in Figure 1, butillustrated in the position in which it is bent to form a curve;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the conveyer shown in Figures 1and 2; I

Figure 4 is an end elevational View of the conveyer shown in Figures 1to 3;

Figure 5 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken along line VV ofFigure 3;

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view taken along line VIVI of Figure 3;

Figure '7 is a detail vertical sectional view taken along line VII-VIIof Fig. 1;

Figure 8 is a detail sectional View taken along line VIII VIII of Figure7; and

Figure 9 is a detail vertical sectional view through one of the rollersand its mounting, illus- 1, 1932, Serial No. 648,220

trating the manner of mounting the same upon the side joists of theconveyer.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 aconveyer comprising a pair of ribbon joist members 1 and 2, the ribbon 1being formed of a pair of flat ribbons 3 and 4 of steel, or similarflexible material, which is rigid in the direction of the greatestwidth, but is flexible in the direction of the narrower width thereof.The joist 2 is likewise formed of a pair of ribbons 5 and 6 constructedof the same, or similar material.

The ribbon joists extend substantially throughout the length of thesection of the conveyer constructed in accordance with my invention, theends of the joists 1 and 2 being received in box like slideways 7 and 8upon a supporting standard 9 at one end of the conveyer and box-likeslideways 10 and 11 formed upon an end standard 12 at the opposite endof the conveyer.

By referring particularly to Figures 3 and 4, it will be observed thatthe standards 9 and 12 are formed with a base member 13 supported inspaced relation to the floor or ground upon which the standard rests bymeans of feet 14. A pair of upright lugs 15 and 16 extend verticallyfrom the base 13 and are braced near their upper ends by means of across brace 17 upon the outer ends of which are preferably formed a pairof sockets 18 and 19 to receive in telescopic engagement therein a pairof extensions 20 and 21, respectively, of the lugs 15 and 16. The upperend of the extension 20 is illustrated as being provided with abifurcated head 21 between the arms of which is received a depending lug22 formed upon the slideway 8, while in a similar manner the upper endof theextension 21 is formed with a bifurcated head 23 receiving the lug21 formed upon the other slideway '7 constituting a portion of the endstandard. The slideways '7 and 8 are preferably braced against relativelateral and longitudinal movement by means of a plurality of cross bars25, three of which are illustrated herein and which are preferablyemployed as a mounting for the end rollers 26 constituting the parcelsupporting rollers for the conveyers, as by means of turning up the ends27 of the bars to form bearings 28 and 29 for opposite ends,respectively, of the axle 30 upon which the roller 26 is mounted.

In order to facilitate handling of the conveyer, and to facilitatemoving it to various positions and various curves, I prefer to provide ahandle member 31 which may take the form of a flat bar extendinglaterally across the ends of the slide ways 7 and 8. 7

By referring particularly to Figure 4, it will be observed that theslideways 7 and 8 are each formed with a rectangular passageway 32extending therethrough, this passageway being just OK u;

slightly in excess of the dimensions of the cross sections of the ribbonjoists 1 and 2 so that the ribbon joists may be telescopically movedinto and out of the slideways '7 and 3 or the two ribbons forming eitherof these joists may be telescopically moved relative to the slideway andrelative to each other when the conveyer is to be positioned in an areor curve, as will be more fully described hereinafter.

Referring particularly to Figures 1 and 3, it will be observed that thespace between the end standards 9 and 12 is traversed by the ribbonjoists 1 and 2 and a plurality of parcel supporting rollers 33 arespaced evenly along these joists so as to provide a substantiallycontinuous parcel supporting surface over which parcels may move.

By referring particularly to Figures 1, 3 and 5, it will be observedthat each of the rollers 33 is rotatably supported upon a rollermounting 34 which in effect comprises a cross bar, the ends 35 and 36 ofwhich are turned upwardly and are formed with bearing openings 37 and38, to receive the ends of the axles constituting the axes about whichthe rollers 33 rotate or, if desired, the axle 39 may constitutetrunnions formed upon the outer ends of the rollers 33.

Depending downwardly from the lower surface of the cross bar or mounting34, is a pair of lugs 40 and 41, which are preferably U-shaped in crosssection so that they, together with the bottom surface of the cross bar34, form a rectangular passage 42 through which the ribbon joists 1 and2, respectively, may extend. Preferably the passageway 42 is of suchsize as to permit relative sliding movement between the lugs 40 and thejoists 2 and also to permit relative longitudinal movement between thetwo ribbons forming the joists. At or near the center of the cross bar34 I have illustrated an additional lug 43 which, as is more clearlyillustrated in Figures 7 and 8, is preferably formed of a section oftubing, the longitudinal axis of which extends at right angles to thelongitudinal axis of the cross bar 34.

The lugs 43 are employed to hold the cross bars and their associatedrollers upon the conveyer assembly and are further employed for thepurpose of holding the rollers in longitudinal, spaced relation relativeto each other, and for this reason I have illustrated the lugs 43 asbeing threaded upon a central runner 44, the longitudinal dimension ofeach of the lugs 43 being such as to conveniently space the rollers 33relative to each other longitudinally of the conveyer when the ends ofthe adjacent lugs 43 are in abutting relation with each other.

By referring particularly to Figures '7 and 8, it will be observed thatthe central runner 44 is formed of a round rod or wire which extendsthroughout the entire length of the conveyer unit and it will also beobserved that the interior diameter of the lugs 43 is considerably inexcess of the diameter of the wire or red forming the central runner 44so that there is permitted a considerable lateral movement of thatportion of the runner 44 which lies within the lug 43.

It will also be observed that the ends 45 of the lug 43 are struckinwardly or collapsed to substantially close the ends of these tubularmembers, leaving therein only a passage just sufficient to readilypermit the wire or rod 44 to pass therethrough. This collapsing ordrawing down of the ends of the tube may be formed in any suitablemanner and by any well known machine shop practice, though I prefer tosimply flatten the ends of the tubular section forming the lug 43 andthen drilling a longitudinal hole in this collapsed end of the lugthrough which the runner may pass as it appears to be the quickest andmost economical manner of producing the lugs.

It will also be observed that lugs formed in this manner may be formedfrom sections of standard pipe and then welded, as is indicated at 46,to the cross bars 34 forming the roller mounting.

The central runner 44 is preferably not only flexible but also resilientso that when it is distorted, as by curving the ends toward each other,the body of the central runner or rod will assume a true arc, the radiusof which is the center of curvature of the curve assumed by theconveyer. Thus that section of the rod or wire which lies within any oneof the lugs will form an are having this same radius and thelongitudinal axis of the lug will form a chord of this are. Thus whenthe rod with its assembled lugs and rollers is curved the of each of therollers will extend along one of the radii of the curve formed by thecurved configuration of the conveyer and hence, irrespective of thedegree of the curve, and irrespective of whether a single curve orwhether a plurality of curves is formed by the conveyer, those rollerswhich lie on any portion of any of the curves will lie with their axesaligned with radii of the curve in which they are positioned. Thus whenparcels are passed along the conveyer on the rollers such parcels willautomatically travel around the curve without the necessity of guides,tracks, wires, or other devices preventing them from falling from theconveyer, since as the parcels engage each roller with its axisextending along the radius of the curve, the parcel will beautomatically guided to the new position around the curve. Such auto--matic alignment of the axes of the rollers is illustrated particularlyin Figure 2, in which the conveyer is shown as having been bent toassume a curve of a little more than 120.

The central runner 44 is preferably secured to the end standards 9 and12 by passing the same through an end lug 47 similar to lugs 43, securedto the foremost cross bar 25 on the end standard. A collar 48 may besecured upon the runner 44 in back of the lug 47 by means of a set screw49. Thus when the rollers are assembled with their lugs 43 threaded uponthe central runner 44 and the central runner is fixed at each of itsends to the end standards, the entire assembly will be held rigidlyagainst longitudinal displacement.

The lugs 40 and 41 of the roller supports 34 are threaded upon thejoists 2 and 1, respectively, so that irrespective of the displacementof the axes of the rollers the joists 1 and 2 will constitute a supportrigid in the vertical direction for the rollers and the parcels passingover the conveyer. If it is desired to provide additional supportintermediate the end standards, intermediate standards 50 may beprovided each of which preferably includes a base portion correspondingto the lower sections of the end standards 9 and 12, the upper ends ofthese intermediate standards being formed of a pair of extensions 51 ofthe lugs forming the base section of the standard and having upon theirupper ends a U-shaped bracket 52, the lugs 53 and 54 of which areprovided with passageways through which the joists may extend.

It will be observed that the construction herein described will permitof the ready manufacture and assembly of a conveyer unit in which theribbon joists constitutes the support in the vertical direction, butwhich may be readily flexed into any desired curvature or otherconfiguration, and

in which, when so flexed or curved, will cause the rollers to assumepositions which will guide the parcels, such as 55, accurately along thelength of the conveyer. It is preferred to secure the two ribbonsforming each of the joists, together near their centers as by means ofpins 56 and 57 passing laterally through both of the ribbons uponopposite sides of the lugs 41 formed upon the central roller mounting.Thus when the conveyer is flexed or curved the ends of the ribbons maybe moved relative to each other as they assume the curved positions, butthe pins 56 and 57 will prevent any major longitudinal displacementbetween the ribbons forming the joist.

By referring particularly to Figure 6, it will be observed that afterthe conveyer has been moved to the desired curved position and thejoists have thus been moved relative to each other to the curvedpositions, the entire conveyer may be locked in the new position bymeans of clamping the ribbons 5 and 6 together and clamping them rigidlywith respect to the slideway 8 into which they project. Such clampingaction may be readily performed by means of a wing-screw 58 extendinglaterally through the slideway '7, there being only one of thewing-screws upon each of the slideways.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited toany of the details of construction shown or described herein, except aspointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a conveyer unit, joists extending longitudinally of the conveyer,a plurality of axles extending crosswise of said joists, a runner ofcircular cross section extending substantially parallel to said joists,means mounting said axles upon said runner including a tubular lug rigidwith respect to the axis of said axle and extending at right angles tothe said axis, said lug being formed of a section of circular crosssection tubing having an internal diameter larger than the diameter ofsaid runner with reduced end portions conforming substantially with thediameter of said runner.

2. In a conveyer unit, joists extending longitudinally of the conveyer,a plurality of axles extending crosswise of said joists, a runner ofcircular cross section extending substantially parallel to said joists,means mounting said axles upon said runner including a tubular lug rigidwith respect to the axis of said axle and extending at right angles tothe said axis, said lug being formed of a section of circular crosssection tubing having an internal diameter larger than the diameter ofsaid runner and having the ends of said tubular section drawn inwardlywith an entrance opening therethrough conforming substantially with thediameter of said runner.

3. In a conveyer unit, joists extending longitudinally of the conveyer,a plurality of axles extending crosswise of said joists, a runner ofcircular cross section extending substantially parallel to said joists,means mounting said axles upon said runner including a tubular lug rigidwith respect to the axis of said axle and extending at right angles tothe said axis, said lug being formed of a section of circular crosssection tubing having an internal diameter larger than the diameter ofsaid runner, and having the ends thereof closed, a longitudinallyextending entrance opening through said closed ends having a diametersubstantially equal to the diameter of said runner, and alignedconcentrically with the interior of said tubular section.

4. In a conveyer unit, joists extending longitudinally of the conveyer,a plurality of axles extending crosswise of said joists, a runnerextending substantially parallel to said joists, means mounting saidaxles upon said runner, including a tubular lug rigid with respect tothe axis of said axle and extending at right angles to the said axis,said runner being formed of a length of circular cross section resilientwire, and said lug being formed of a length of circular cross sectionaltube with an interior passage extending longitudinally therethrough ofgreater diameter than the diameter of said wire and having the endportions thereof closed and formed with an entrance passage therethroughconforming substantially to the diameter of said wire.

HERBERT E. TWOMLEY.

